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Nude-colored gown for Oscars worth $5 million

NEW YORK -- Forget a million bucks. On Oscar night, Jules Asner will look like 5 million bucks.

Asner, star of E! Entertainment Television's "Revealed" and "E! News Live," will wear a diamond-studded, nude-colored gown with an estimated value of $5 million. Designed by Anne Bowen, the dress features 5,000 quarter-carat Hearts on Fire diamonds, which are known for their precise cut.

The jewels cascade down the silk-and-cotton tulle gown with a silk iridescent chiffon overlay. It flares softly at the bottom with a slit on the center of the right leg.

The gown then will be auctioned for charity, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting Hollygrove, a center in Los Angeles that provides care for abused and neglected children.

Billionaire claims sterility in child case

LOS ANGELES -- Kirk Kerkorian can't be the father of a 4-year-old girl because he is sterile, the billionaire's lawyers argued as his ex-wife sought $320,000 a month in child support.

"This is a child support case in name only," attorney Dennis M. Wasser said Thursday, accusing Lisa Bonder Kerkorian of "using child support as a vehicle to enrich herself."

During the daylong hearing, Superior Court Judge Lee Smalley Edmon ruled that the woman's lawyers may examine Kerkorian's tax returns, but he delayed ruling on her request that Kerkorian pay more than $500,000 in her legal expenses.

She left the courtroom in tears. "I can't afford this," she cried as she ran down the court hallway, clutching a stuffed Easter bunny wrapped in cellophane.

Wasser told the judge that the woman is worth about $12 million and doesn't need help paying her legal bills.

Kerkorian, 84, is worth an estimated $6.5 billion. He is the majority shareholder in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer movie studio and MGM Mirage Inc., which owns several Las Vegas Strip hotels.

He and Lisa Kerkorian, who were married for a month in 1999, had a 10-year romantic relationship that ended when she allegedly saw him with another woman in August 2000.

Cochran's client told to end protest campaign

LOS ANGELES -- A disgruntled client who believes defense lawyer Johnnie Cochran Jr. cheated him out of money must stop his 10-year protest campaign, a judge said.

The Superior Court judge ruled Thursday against Ulysses Tory in a two-year-old defamation and invasion of privacy lawsuit. He ordered Tory to stop the demonstrations, said Jonathan Cole, who represented Cochran.

Cochran is best known for successfully defending O.J. Simpson against double murder charges.

Cole said the attorney represented Tory in legal actions against Los Angeles County in 1983, but Cochran asked to be relieved as counsel two years later.

Tory then began demonstrating against Cochran outside the attorney's office and the downtown courthouse, alleging that Cochran owed him money and was unfit to practice law.

Tory, who served as his own lawyer in the lawsuit, claimed he was protected from defamation claims because Cochran was a public figure.

But Judge Ronald Sohigian ruled that Tory made false statements maliciously, "with reckless disregard for the truth" and "solely with the intent to extort money from Cochran," Cole said.

Hollywood publicist recognized for work

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- For more than 50 years, publicist Warren Cowan stood in the background as his famous clients received Oscars and Emmys.

On Thursday night, Cowan was the guest of honor. He received the Mentor of the Year award from the nonprofit for helping to train two generations of Hollywood publicists.

"You've been able to spin the magic that this town is famous for," former client Shirley MacLaine said.

Elizabeth Taylor, speaking to the Beverly Hilton Hotel audience from New York, lavished praise on Cowan. Paul Newman, also in the East, read a raucous poem in his honor.

In his acceptance speech, the 77-year-old Cowan dedicated the award "to my own mentor, the late Henry Rogers."

In the 1950s, the two created Rogers & Cowan, which became the biggest entertainment publicity agency in the world. Its clients included Audrey Hepburn, Cary Grant, Doris Day, Lucille Ball, Ronald Reagan, Grace Kelly and the Beatles.

In 1988, the firm was sold to a British conglomerate. A few years later, Cowan launched his own publicity office.

Kate Moss, boyfriend announce first child

LONDON -- Kate Moss and her publisher boyfriend, Jefferson Hack, are expecting their first baby, Hack's family said Friday.

Hack's father, Douglas, said the couple told him on Wednesday that the 28-year-old model is three months pregnant.

"It's great news and we are delighted," he said. "They told us that Kate is pregnant. They are very happy about it and they are very happy together."

A spokeswoman for Moss's modeling agency, Storm, confirmed the news.

Douglas Hack said he hadn't known that the couple, who've been together 18 months, were trying to have a child.

"They hadn't mentioned anything about wanting a baby and they have kept everything under wraps for the past three months," he said.

Moss and Hack, the 30-year-old publisher of style magazine Dazed & Confused, have no plans to marry, Douglas Hack said.

--From wire reports